William Alexander Richardson

William Alexander Richardson (16 January 1811-27 December 1875) was a member of the US House of Representatives (D-IL 5) from 6 December 1847 to 25 August 1856 (succeeding Stephen A. Douglas and preceding Jacob C. Davis) and from 4 March 1861 to 12 January 1863 (succeeding Isaac N. Morris and preceding Owen Lovejoy) and a US Senator from 12 January 1863 to 3 March 1865 (succeeding Orville Hickman Browning and preceding Richard Yates).

Biography
William Alexander Richardson was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1811, and he became a lawyer in 1831. He started his practice in Shelbyville, Illinois, and he served as a state representative from 1836 to 1838 and from 1844 to 1846 and as a State Senator from 1838 to 1842. He went on to serve in the US House of Representatives from 1847 to 1856 and from 1861 to 1863, Governor of the Nebraska Territory from 12 January to 5 December 1858 (succeeding Thomas B. Cuming and preceding Julius Sterling Morton), and as a US Senator from 1863 to 1865. He died in Quincy, Illinois in 1875.